


Lucidity

by DarknessBound



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Adorable, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Castiel and Dean Winchester First Meet, Castiel and Dean Winchester Have a Profound Bond, Castiel and Dean Winchester are Neighbors, Castiel/Dean Winchester Flirting, Castiel/Dean Winchester One Shot, Dreams, Lucid Dreaming, M/M, Meet-Cute, POV Castiel (Supernatural), Pining, block party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:53:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25651666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarknessBound/pseuds/DarknessBound
Summary: When you’re a frequent lucid dreamer, sometimes it’s hard to remember what’s real. For Cas, he knows the green eyed man is real... and he knows he’s out there somewhere.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 32
Kudos: 142





	Lucidity

_“It’s nice here, I don’t think we’ve been here before.”_

_“Really? It’s a park close to my house.” Dean sat back on the bench and spread his arms out, taking in the vast sea of green. “You haven’t visited me in a while.”_

_Cas smiled sadly and looked over, admiring the similarities between Dean’s eyes and the view. “I know. I haven’t been dreaming much at all lately, I think it’s stress related. But I found my way back to you eventually, I always do.”_

_“Why are you stressed?” He asked, his gaze still on the trees. Cas felt Dean take his hand and would have felt better, but he hated the dreams where he couldn’t get Dean to look at him._

_He contemplated his response and decided on the truth. It was a dream, after all. “I’m moving soon, to a town I’ve never even been to. Well, except for with you, of course. I’m leaving my friends and my family… it’s… not an easy transition for me. I’m not the best at making friends.”_

_Dean made a pfft noise and grinned. “You’re awesome, Cas. I’m sure you’d make friends anywhere you went. Do you know the town name?”_

_“Lawrence, Kansas. If the part of my brain responsible for dreams can be believed, it’s the town we were in when you shoved an ice cream cone in my face and then proceeded to mouth it off me.” The memory still made Cas smile; that had been one of his favorite dreams. “I think we traumatized the server.”_

_Dean laughed loudly and finally looked over to meet Cas’ gaze. “That’s w-”_

Castiel was jolted awake by his favorite obnoxious redhead - or used to be favorite. Right now, not so much. “Cas! We have to get back to packing. You napped for two hours.” She looked at his face and sat up straighter. “Was it him again?”

“Yes, and he _finally_ looked at me when you woke me up. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been able to properly see his eyes, and not just the sides of them?” He knew he didn’t have a right to be mad at her, especially because it was just a dream… but he was irritated nonetheless. 

Charlie made some sad, dreamy eyes. “Still a better love story than Twilight.” She nudged him, trying to get a smile.

“With all due respect, the tale of me and my missing sock is still a better love story than Twilight.” He softened, turning to face her with a reluctant smirk. “And at least neither of us sparkle.”

“Oh god, could you imagine!?” She giggled, shuddering a little. “Come on, I ordered pizza. Then we gotta finish up. We’re hitting the road at 8am sharp.”

~~~~

The drive was unnecessarily long, but Charlie insisted on stopping half a dozen times at strange truck stops, yammering on about souvenirs. In the end, she wasn’t wrong… they ended up with matching coffee mugs reading ‘Intercourse, PA.’

His first real look at the house he’d purchased gave him comfort. It wasn’t massive by any means, but it immediately gave him _home_ vibes, and that was more than he could’ve hoped for. The place came partially furnished, but though Cas would still have to buy quite a few things to fill the interior, he had a bed and working appliances, which seemed like a good start to him. “Just set the boxes in the living room, I’ll start unpacking in a little while.” 

Once they called it a night, they sat on his hardwood floor in their matching pajamas and ate Chinese food. “At least the food is good.”

“And the delivery was quick. I always appreciate it when I don’t have to leave the comfort of my home to get a meal.” He picked at it slowly as he studied the house, particularly the paint. “I don’t think I care for the colors in here, maybe I’ll change things up before I get actual furniture.”

“That’s a good idea. Make it your own. What are you thinking? Classy colors, or going full gay with some purple walls?” She laughed at her joke and choked on her chow mein. _Serves her right._

Cas truthfully wasn’t sure yet, so he pointedly ignored her question and she knew him well enough not to keep asking. 

After dinner they turned in, and the goodbye they shared in the morning was one of the hardest of Castiel’s life. He knew it wasn’t forever; Charlie had been around since he was a child and he knew it would take more than a couple thousand miles to separate them… but this would also be the first time in his adult life that he’d be living alone. 

When the taxi drove her away to the airport, Cas stepped out onto his front porch and surveyed the neighborhood. He now lived in a cul-de-sac, and the houses circling the street looked like little boxes. Their uniformity made him frown until his eyes fell on the singular structure that was different. 

Three houses down from his own, it looked like someone had torn down their cookie-cutter property and built their own. It was beautiful, not just architecturally, but because it was different. Something about the shutters and the angle of the roof stirred something in Cas. _Why does that seem so familiar?_

He stared at the house for so long, he didn’t notice the very tall, long-haired man walking up to him. “Hey!” He waved. “I’m Sam, I live around the corner. Just moved in, huh?” Sam handed him a flyer that just said ‘Block Party’ in rainbow lettering and ’Location: Under the sun, just walk outside.’ He smiled, “My brother made them, he’s putting it together for this weekend. Water fights, barbecue food. You’re more than welcome to join us, I believe everyone in this cul-de-sac will be there. Could meet some new people.”

That was a lot of information to process, and Cas couldn’t quite get past his initial impression of _overgrown puppy._ He blinked, nodding a little. “Right, that would be… helpful. Thank you, Sam. Will I be required to bring anything? I’ve never been to a…” he flicked his eyes down to the flyer again to get the wording right, “block party before.”

“Nope. Especially since you’re new. If you like it, you can help out next year. My brother wants it to be a new tradition. He thinks kids watch too much TV nowadays, like he can’t quote _every_ Lord of the Rings movie.” He rolled his eyes fondly. “Just come out anytime on Saturday, we’re going until sundown.”

Cas was already plotting excuses to not go while simultaneously making a mental note not to attempt anything that required concentration on Saturday due to the anticipated noise. He huffed at his own thought, wondering when the hell he turned into an eighty year old man. “Thank you, Sam. Truly, it was kind of you to invite me. Maybe I’ll see you there.”

He watched as the giant man bounded his way down the steps and watched curiously to see if he was the owner of the familiar house, but he turned the opposite direction once he reached the road. _Hm. Curiouser and curiouser, thought Alice._

~~~~

Though Cas wasn’t due to start his new job until the following Monday, he still made a point to practice the drive to the office, just in case. The entire ride there, he found himself squirming in his seat at the familiarity of it all, but assumed that it was just another Small Town, USA, and they were all pretty much the same. 

After becoming reasonably sure he wouldn’t be late due to getting lost, he stopped at the grocery store in town and made his way back home. It looked like some of his new neighbors were already setting up for the block party, which meant he’d gone on his little excursion just in time - he definitely didn’t want to get _blocked_ out of his own driveway. 

Chuckling at his own joke, he made his way back inside his house to have a snack. It wasn’t quite dinner time yet and he was still trying to figure out what to bother cooking for himself when someone knocked on his door. Assuming it was Sam again, he opened it hesitantly, but found himself face-to-face with a middle aged man with even longer hair than Sam’s. He looked a little like a grizzly bear, but it wasn’t off-putting. “Hello, can I help you?”

“Hey there. I’m Cain.” He held out his hand. “Would you happen to have any ketchup? I agreed to bring condiments and I forgot ketchup, of all things. Dean wouldn’t let me hear the end of it.” Cain chuckled. “I’ll absolutely repay you later. You’re coming right?”

The name instantly brought to mind Dean Moriarity, one of his all-time favorite literary characters. He chuckled quietly, stepping aside to let Cain in. “Believe it or not, I just bought a fresh bottle. Come in, I’ll grab it for you.” He made his way to his bare kitchen and fetched the bottle, handing it to Cain with a friendly smile. “As far as my attendance goes… I’m probably going to pass. Crowds aren’t really my thing, and as you can see, I’m still settling in.”

“That’s a bummer. I live right next door. Your other side is Mrs. Jones. Across the way is Rufus. We’re the old bunch in the court, rest are all youngins like yourself. Dean has the fancy house on the corner, that’s where the grill is if you change your mind.” He tapped the ketchup and nodded, “What was your name again?”

Knowing the only name he’d remember in that bunch was Dean’s, Cas nodded like he’d committed all of those to memory. “My name is Castiel, and thank you. Maybe I’ll join a little later.”

Cain offered a wave and headed out, and sure enough… by the time the smell of whatever was on that grill wafted through Cas’ open windows, he knew nothing he’d made on his own would be adequate. 

He took a moment to fix his shirt and slide his shoes on, then sucked in a steadying breath and headed out the door. 

The party was in full swing, some lawns had bouncy houses, some had the sprinklers on. Kids ran happily and every adult had a smile on their face. He spotted Sam, looking comfortable with a beer in his hand, laughing at one of the men getting trampled with children. Cas couldn’t see his face, but he was near the only house Cas was actually curious about, so he made his way over.

When Sam caught sight of him, he yelled his name loudly in order to be heard over the music coming from the black car in the driveway. Cas smiled a little nervously, feeling strange about walking up to a man he’d met once to ask him to share his dinner. 

But that was nothing compared to the jostling, center-of-gravity shifting bolt of recognition that rocked his very bones when the other man finally extricated himself from the kids and turned around. 

All at once, things became both clear and incredibly, insanely fuzzy. Of course the town looked familiar, and the house. Of course Dean’s name brought to mind someone he loved dearly - though it wasn’t Jack Kerouac’s character at all, it was the man he’d been dreaming about for as long as he could remember. That strong jaw, the eyes greener than any forest, the smile that shone brighter than the sun itself… it was absolutely, without a doubt the man from his dreams. _But_ _how?_

Cas swallowed thickly as Sam continued speaking, but he was no longer listening. He was preoccupied trying to figure out how any of this was possible, and more importantly, how to open his mouth and introduce himself without sounding like he’d caught the first bus out of the mental institution. “H-hi,” he stammered out, oblivious to where Sam had been in his own introduction. “I’m Castiel, I’m… your new neighbor.”

Dean ran a hand through his wet, tousled hair and took a few steps forward as he wiped his hand on his jeans. “I’m Dean. Can I call you Cas?” Cas nodded, still dumbstruck at that beautiful smile - or maybe it was lovestruck? He wasn’t sure, all he _was_ sure of was that he needed to get a grip before he earned a reputation as the ‘weird neighbor’. Dean reached out his hand and Cas was pleased to feel how rough they were. _Wrong time to go there._

“Cas is fine. So, this house is yours?” Cas turned towards the house, to keep from staring.

Dean stood next to him and looked up at the house proudly. “Yup. I couldn’t stand the cookie cutter look so I gutted it. Wanted to be close to my family though and watch my niece and nephew grow up, so I chose the shittiest house on the block and made it pretty.” He shrugged and turned back towards Cas, and he didn’t miss the way those beautiful jades traveled down his frame. “Have we met before?” Cas’ heartbeat was pounding so loudly in his ears he was sure Dean could hear it. _Only in my dreams… please tell me you have them too._ Before Cas could speak Dean shrugged it off. “Nah. I’d definitely remember those eyes. You wanna beer, Cas?”

His heart sank slightly, but he nodded anyway. He couldn’t believe he almost didn’t come today, and now he was sitting with the literal man of his dreams. Dean was even more gorgeous in person. Cas had begun to think he was all his imagination, and knowing it was impossible to be _that_ beautiful had helped that theory. But here he was, better than any dream could have made him. No matter how realistic the dream, none of them did his eyes justice - especially out here with the sun shining, and Dream Dean didn’t have freckles. Cas had never realized how much he liked freckles before, but he found himself wanting to count every single one on Dean’s body. 

They hung out for hours, talking about everything and nothing. Dean was the handyman around this community, and every person seemed to admire him. A woman named Lisa came over at one point with her son and Cas was actually worried for a few moments when she touched his arm. _Was this his wife? Was his perfect man taken?_ When her son climbed into Dean’s lap, Cas nearly lost all hope but he didn’t call him dad, he called him Dean.

He luckily didn’t have to worry long, because they said their goodbyes and she walked to a completely different house. Dean gave Cas most of his attention and when the sun was setting, Cas was fairly certain Dean was interested in him. 

“Is there a park around here that is just miles of green?” Cas asked randomly and then blushed when Dean met his eyes. 

“Um, yeah, there’s one not far actually. Some people play golf there, but I normally just sit outside and stare at the trees.” Dean blushed like he just admitted some deep secret and looked down at his hands. “I can take you there one day.”

“I’d like that.” _How is this real? How is he real?_

“So, no lucky... significant other?” He finally asked when most people had long went home. The few that were around were drunk, or in deep conversations of their own.

Cas smiled and licked his lips. “No. You?” _Please say no._

“Nah. Not for a while. It’s a small town, dating is hard. Especially when you’re gay.” Dean glanced over, gauging Cas’ response as he took a sip of beer.

_Oh, thank the damn stars._ Cas chuckled to himself. “Well, I’ll be right beside you there, then.” He held out his beer to cheers, relief flooding through him.

Dean’s smile widened and he leaned in closer to cheers. “How about dinner tomorrow? My place. A real home cooked meal, not barbeque.” He winked, and it was over. Castiel was hooked. 

At that point, Cas wasn’t sure if it was just another lucid dream or finally reality, but it didn’t truly matter.

It was real enough to him.


End file.
